Playing the Long Game to Advance Health Equity

October 2025 Letter from the Director

 

Published
By
Health Equity
Path through trees

As the leaves turn red, orange, and yellow, we have somehow found ourselves marching toward the end of yet another year. This fall, I had the opportunity to travel to Vermont, pause for a moment, and take in the beautiful fall foliage. As I often do on long walks, I began to reflect on the year behind us.

This has been a year of both progress and obstacles. While it is fair to say that we’ve encountered a few roadblocks in our collective pursuit of health equity, these moments have also reminded us exactly why this work matters so deeply. Now, more than ever, we are called on not only to support one another, but also to stay steadfast in our commitment to supporting our communities facing deeply rooted inequities. This past year has underscored that our strength lies in our resilience,  an ability to organize around a shared mission, and a determination to persist, even when the path forward feels uncertain. As C.S. Lewis once said, “Hardships often prepare ordinary people for an extraordinary destiny.”

So, what does it mean to “Play the Long Game”? The Free dictionary defines this idiom in two ways: 1) taking necessary actions in the present to set oneself up for success in the future, and 2) not sacrificing long-term gains for short-term wins. Health equity has always required long-term strategic thinking. It asks us to look beyond immediate results and instead, invest in building systems, relationships, and movements that can endure.

I’d like to share a few lessons learned from my life and career on playing the long game to advance health equity, especially in these extraordinary times.

Health Equity Work is Personal

Growing up in Liberia, I saw clearly how opportunity and privilege, or lack thereof, shaped the course of people’s lives. I did not yet have the words for it, but I later understood that what I witnessed were social inequities and health disparities. I learned early that social and economic inequities lead directly into health inequities, and that this can often lead to far-reaching consequences that harm everyone.

Our personal stories will undeniably shape the lens through which we approach this work. If you hold privilege, use it to open doors and advocate for those who do not. If you come from a marginalized background, your lived experience gives you a unique ability to empathize, connect, and will be equally important in pushing this work forward.

Resistance to Health Equity Research is Not New

Health equity research has always been fraught with social and political tension, and has often generated scrutiny in ways other fields have not. This means we have to be particularly rigorous in the way we perform this work. We must ground our work in accuracy, ethical conduct, and scientific integrity to ensure our findings can stand firm against doubt. Efforts to build interdisciplinary partnership and technical skills strengthen our projects. With these in hand, we will always be prepared to defend the integrity of our research.

Health Equity Practice is Challenging and Complex

Health is more than health care. As health professionals, we must address multiple factors that contribute to health disparities in the communities we serve. As professionals, we must incorporate this complexity into how we design programs, lead teams, and build partnerships. And, in difficult times, it is alright if you don’t have all the answers. True progress requires that we work together with patience and empathy, to seek answers among voices unheard, and to persist as we try to mend broken systems. There is an African proverb that says, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together,” and this is true – lasting progress comes only when we find a way to push forward together.

Health Equity is Political

Health equity work is inherently political, even if it is not partisan. To work in this space, you must recognize that policies shape health outcomes, and silence can reinforce inequity. People are going to expect you to use your voice, and this will be particularly true if yours is the only one in the room that can advocate for a problem that we all know exists.

It is important to develop an advocacy strategy for your work – clearly define what your goals and objectives are, identify policy solutions, and build coalitions with like-minded people. Meet with agency representatives and policymakers, share evidence, provide testimony, and offer feedback on legislation. Finally, words hold different meanings for different people, so be flexible and willing to compromise, but be true to yourself and don’t compromise your values.

Communities that Experience Disparities have Tremendous Assets

The lived experience of community members heavily impacted by health disparities is just as important as a researcher’s content knowledge. Not only do communities already have solutions to their problems, but the narratives and wisdom they contribute sustain us in our work. It is important to not only demonstrate trustworthiness when engaging with communities, but to also build authentic partnerships where knowledge can flow bidirectionally.

The pursuit of health equity is, and always has been, a long game. The road is filled with stumbling blocks, and it is true that we are encountering one now. But if we stay patient, persistent, and grounded in our shared purpose, I am confident that we will one day build something that lasts. Playing the long game means understanding that the seeds we plant today will one day materialize into a more just and equitable world for the future. To summarize, if we play the long game, we will win.

Now , I’d like to take a lighter moment to highlight some of the many accomplishments from our group over the past few months, and recognize our colleagues who continue to advance this work with such dedication.

Center Highlights

  • CHE faculty hosted a workshop at the Bloomberg American Health Initiative (BAHI) Summit 2025  on September 29, 2025, leading discussions on “Addressing Social Drivers of Health through Community-Informed Solutions.”
  • CHE was well represented at the 15th Annual Henrietta Lacks Symposium on October 4, 2025, in Baltimore, MD.
    • Dr. Deidra Crews delivered the keynote address, highlighting the current landscape of kidney health and emphasizing the progress achieved through advocacy and community-based interventions.
    • I had the honor of presenting the 2025 Henrietta Lacks Memorial Award to the Agrihood Baltimore Food Box Delivery Program, led by Plantation Park Heights Urban Farm Leader and CHE CAB member, Farmer Chippy.
  • The CHE has been collaborating with the Mayo Clinic on the Techquity by FAITH! (Fostering African American Improvement in Total Health) Project to improve cardiovascular health and advance digital health equity among African American communities. Check out our blog article  about the collaboration.
  • CHE Faculty and Staff published, “Academic Hegemony and Monitoring of Shared Power in Community-Engaged Research Trials” in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH). Led by Dr. Chidinma Ibe, this important work explores how academic institutions can more effectively share power with community partners in research.
  • CHE Faculty were honored in three JHU Discovery Awards, honoring interdisciplinary collaborations across the university.
    • Drs. Yvonne Commodore-Mensah, Harold Lehmann, Alhassan Yasin, Oluwabunmi Ogungbe, Lisa Cooper,  Serwaa Karikari, and Judy Greengold were awarded on, “Transforming Hypertension Care Through Artificial Intelligence: A Multi-Divisional Initiative Enabling Clinicians to Drive Precision Population Health Improvements.”
    • Drs. Kelly Bower, Rheanna Platt, August Summers, Wendy Bennett, and Lindsay Martin were awarded on, “Development of a Scalable Behavioral-psychosocial Intervention to Address the Syndemic of Maternal Obesity and Postpartum Depression.”
    • Drs. Theodore Iwashyna, Cecilia Tomori, Ashraf Fawzy, Katrina Hauschildt, Kadija Ferryman, Emmanuel Drabo, and Deidra Crews were awarded on, “CORRECT-O2 – Counteracting Obscured Racialized Risks by Examining Corporate Tactics in the Pulse Oximetry Market.”
  • The CHE held energetic and insightful Jam Sessions from Gaurav Dave, MBBS, DrPH, MPH, Jennifer A. Richeson, PhD, Jagriti "Jackie" Bhattarai, PhD, Charles Mathias, PhD and Adam Seth Levine, PhD, MA in March, May, June, September and October 2025. To  register for future Jam Sessions, please click here! 

Faculty Highlights